I live here!

My friendship with the elderly neighbour started when I first came to view the new flat. (Does sixties count as 'elderly'? Maybe not?). She was tending her garden.  And in response to her smile, I screamed ‘If all goes well, I’ll be your new neighbour for a few months’.  Don’t ask me why I did that, but I did.  But then again, instead of recoiling, she screamed back ‘I’ll be looking forward to that’ as I walked away. There's a good sign. 


While I completely forgot about her when I moved in 2 weeks later, she remembered me.  Enough to come and stand in front of my kitchen window every morning for the first 10 days and wave at me.  In response, I would go out and small talk her!

Now, this neighbour has a strange habit of walking her cat on a lease.  Or should I say it the English way - a lead? You can tell that the cat wasn’t exactly thrilled by the concept of a human being walking with it everywhere. Add to that the pesky incidence of being pulled back by its neck when it wandered off a little too far from the human.  A cat needs his privacy, you know. And freedom.    Once in a while it tries to shake her off by hiding under a car and refusing to come out in the hope that it will see my neighbour’s feet move away.  But that never happened.  You see, G had plenty of time on her hand and possessed in plenty that virtue called patience which comes only with age. I'm thinking, the cat might eventually give up and get used to being followed, but for now, he’s doing his best not to.

G btw, was born and brought up in this house.  So, during the first week of my stay, she told me what the neighbourhood was like in the past.  She said how there was a hound race track where Sainsburys, Boots and Currys was and how a small ‘shopping complex’ was converted into the present day Asda.  As compensation the residents were offered a round-the-year ski slope (for beginners) and a football field. Meh.  But the best piece of info that she gave me was how there was a railway track that ran here once upon a time and how that it has now been converted into beautiful walk.

I took her advice and went for walk down that old railway line.  Some pics below:

That arrow is pointing towards my Uni

I started from the Ruthrieston Station

That's the Pitfodels Station.  It's for sale!

That's the Bielside Station.  It's now a store house for some company.  The highlight of this station is a fake clock in the place of where the original was!

Some views

Oh well.. few advantages of staying in a neighbourhood you can't quite afford!